Books and articles about Doug Drabek

SHOPPING » Look for Doug Drabek books at BN.com » Look for Doug Drabek books at Amazon.com Your purchases keep BaseballLibrary.com online. Thank you!

RELATED LINKS Submissions » Sil's Thrill: Campusano breaks up Drabek's no-no to the dismay of a full Vet by Mike Shute Around the Web » Doug Drabek's son throws his name into draft pool as pitching prospect from post-gazette.com » Mattingly's son goes to LA from newsday.com » Preston Mattingly 'surprise of the day' at No. 31 to Dodgers from newsday.com » Doug Drabek from baseball-reference.com Jump directly to Library content from any website!

Acquired by Pittsburgh from the Yankees in the 1986 Rick Rhoden deal as part of the Pirates' rebuilding program, Drabek developed into the staff ace for the Bucs' teams that won three straight NL East titles from 1990-92. Under the tutelage of pitching coach Ray Miller, Drabek expanded his repertoire from a fastball and slider to include a changeup and lethal curveball. In 1987, his first season with Pittsburgh, he inaugurated a trend that would continue for most of his career, recovering from a terrible first half (1-8) to lead the club in starts and strikeouts while winning the NL Pitcher of the Month Award for August.

After combining for 29 wins the next two years, Drabek came into his own in 1990. Despite getting passed over for the All Star team, the southpaw rode a 13-2 second half to notch a league-high 22 wins and a 2.76 ERA to claim the NL Cy Young Award. On August 3rd at Philadelphia he lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth when he allowed a single to Sil Campusano. He tossed a three-hitter on September 30th at St. Louis to clinch Pittsburgh's first division title since 1979. Two strong performances from Drabek in the NLCS (including a 2-1 complete-game loss in Game Two) however, were not enough to keep the Pirates from falling in six games to the Reds.

The next two seasons would follow much the same pattern. In 1991 Drabek overcame a slow start to win 15 games and again pitched the clincher for Pittsburgh with a September 22nd win at Philadelphia. Again he pitched brilliantly in the post-season, allowing just one run in 15 NLCS innings, but again he took a hard-luck loss when Atlanta hurler Steve Avery spun a 1-0 shutout vs. him in Game Six of a series the Pirates would lose in seven games. 15 more wins followed in 1992, but so would more heartbreak, as Drabek became the first pitcher to lose three playoff games in one series. In the most agonizing inning of his career, he took a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the ninth inning in Game Seven of the NLCS only to load the bases with no outs and then watch from the bench as reliever Stan Belinda yielded a two-out, two-run single to pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera that hung a loss on Drabek and kept the Pirates from the World Series.

After six seasons with the Pirates, Drabek signed a free-agent contract with the Astros in December 1992. Despite ranking among the NL's top five in innings, complete games and shutouts, Drabek led the league with 18 losses his first season in Houston. He rebounded in 1994 to earn the first All Star selection of his career and win 12 games with a 2.84 ERA in the strike-shortened season.

In 1997 Drabek took his act to the American League. His 12-11 record earned him a dubious place in the history books as he posted the highest ERA (5.74) ever for an AL starter with a winning record. Hoping to rediscover the success of his glory days in Pittsburgh, Drabek signed with Baltimore in 1998, where his old pitching coach Miller was now the Orioles manager. In 23 appearances (21 starts) for Baltimore though, he won just six times against 11 defeats in what would prove his final season. (ME/AGL)